Touch input device with pathogen transmission mitigation

• US 10,139,957 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2017
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cohen, Guy, Kozloski, James R., Pickover, Clifford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham Lu, Ngan T
• Application Number:
  US15/854,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20180136783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 335 Days
• Field of Search: 345173
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/10 Ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/24 Apparatus using programmed or automatic operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2202/16 Mobile applications, e.g. portable devices, trailers, devices mounted on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Methods and systems for mitigating pathogen transmission via a touch surface of a touch input device. Mitigation is accomplished through selective touch surface sterilization and through touchscreen user interface reorganization. The touch surface includes a pixel array for illuminating selected portions of the touch surface with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength based upon the received touch inputs. The selective illumination may occur while receiving a touch input or after an accumulation of touch inputs have been received. The user interface may also be reorganized based on received touch inputs in order to locate user interface icons to lesser touched locations of the touch surface.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a touch surface for receiving a plurality of touch inputs at respective plurality of touch locations on the touch surface;

an accumulator for accumulation of the plurality of touch locations;

an ultraviolet pixel array, each pixel of the ultraviolet pixel array configured to be selectably activated to illuminate with the pixel a portion of the touch surface with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength; and

a controller, responsive to computer instructions, for selecting a plurality of pixels of the ultraviolet pixel array for illuminating with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels a selected plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the plurality of touch locations accumulated by the accumulator.

2. The device according to claim 1 further comprising:

the controller, responsive to computer instructions, for initializing the accumulation with the accumulator based upon determining that the plurality of portions of the touch surface have been illuminated with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels.

3. The device according to claim 1 wherein

the plurality of touch inputs includes finger inputs and stylus inputs,

the accumulation separately accumulates finger inputs with corresponding finger input locations and stylus inputs with corresponding stylus input locations, and

the controller determines the selected plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the accumulation of finger inputs and stylus inputs.

4. The device according to claim 3 wherein

the controller, responsive to computer instructions, for initializing the accumulation with the accumulator of finger inputs and corresponding finger input locations and maintaining the accumulation of stylus inputs and corresponding stylus input locations, based upon determining that the plurality of portions of the touch surface have been illuminated with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels.

5. The device according to claim 1 wherein touch inputs include finger inputs and stylus inputs, and wherein the accumulator includes:

a finger input accumulator for accumulating finger inputs and corresponding finger input locations; and

a stylus input accumulator for accumulating stylus inputs and corresponding stylus input locations.

6. The device according to claim 1 wherein the touch surface comprises a touchscreen display including a user interface, and wherein

the controller, responsive to computer instructions, for

determining a plurality of lesser touched locations on the touchscreen;

and

organizing the user interface having a plurality of icons for rendering at first locations on the touchscreen and a plurality of information fields for rendering at second locations on the touchscreen; and

reorganizing the user interface on the touchscreen based upon the determining a plurality of lesser touched locations on the touchscreen.

7. The device according to claim 6 wherein the reorganized user interface locates at least one of the plurality of icons at one of the second locations and at least one of the plurality of information fields at one of the first locations.

8. The device according to claim 6 further comprising:

the controller, responsive to computer instructions, for

determining an absence of an operator providing touch inputs on the touchscreen, and

rendering the reorganized user interface based upon the determined absence.

9. The device according to claim 6 wherein the user interface includes a plurality of screens, each screen display including at least one of the plurality icons, and wherein the controller, responsive to computer instructions, for

reorganizing the plurality of icons on the plurality of screens of the user interface, and

rendering one of the reorganized plurality of screens and rendering another of the reorganized plurality of screens in response to a touch input received on the touchscreen.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the touch surface comprises a touchscreen display.

11. A method with a device having a touch surface for receiving touch inputs and an ultraviolet pixel array, each pixel of the ultraviolet pixel array being configured to be selectably activated to illuminate with the pixel a portion of the touch surface with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of touch inputs at respective plurality of touch locations on the touch surface;

accumulation of the plurality of touch locations; and

selecting a plurality of pixels of the ultraviolet pixel array and illuminating with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels a selected plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the plurality of touch locations.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

initializing the accumulation based upon determining that the plurality of portions of the touch surface have been illuminated with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of touch inputs includes finger inputs and stylus inputs, and the method further comprising:

accumulation of finger inputs with corresponding finger input locations;

accumulation of stylus inputs with corresponding stylus input locations, the accumulation of stylus inputs being separate from the accumulation of finger inputs; and

determining the selected plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the accumulation of finger inputs and stylus inputs.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

initializing the accumulation of finger inputs and corresponding finger input locations and maintaining the accumulation of stylus inputs and corresponding stylus input locations, based upon determining that the plurality of portions of the touch surface have been illuminated with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the touch surface comprises a touchscreen display.

16. A computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium that is readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

receiving a plurality of touch inputs at respective plurality of touch locations on a touch surface of a device;

accumulation of signals indicative of the plurality of touch locations; and

selecting a plurality of pixels of an ultraviolet pixel array and illuminating with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels a selected plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the plurality of touch locations.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the method further comprising:

initializing the accumulation based upon determining that the plurality of portions of the touch surface have been illuminated with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the plurality of touch inputs includes finger inputs and stylus inputs, and the method further comprising:

accumulation of finger inputs with corresponding finger input locations;

accumulation of stylus inputs with corresponding stylus input locations, the accumulation of stylus inputs being separate from the accumulation of finger inputs; and

determining the selected plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the accumulation of finger inputs and stylus inputs.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the method further comprising:

initializing the accumulation of finger inputs and corresponding finger input locations and maintaining the accumulation of stylus inputs and corresponding stylus input locations, based upon determining that the plurality of portions of the touch surface have been illuminated with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from the selected pixels.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the touch surface comprises a touchscreen display.